Language learning strategies
Language learning strategies for Bahasa Indonesia By Mike (22 Jan 15) This language training is intense and the advice I've had from instructors is that we'll be required to memorise upwards of 25 new words each day. Its been a long time since I've studied and so I'm looking for ways to commit all of this information to memory. What I've tried to far is: Flash cards and trying to write sentences with the new words and effectively word substituting in order to memorise things. By Julie (02 Feb 15) Flash cards are definitely what work for me. They're physically cumbersome though, as at 25 words per day it doesn't take long for them to pile up. Not to mention carrying them around in my bag as the list continues to grow! By Hani (10 Feb 15) http://ankisrs.net/ is a great free app that is essentially electronic flash cards that you can take anywhere. I study with it on my phone between lessons or when I go places, without having to drag around a bag of flash cards. It also allows you to upload pictures and prompts to remind you of words you're struggling with. by Leia (15 Feb 15) I downloaded Anki Hani, thanks for the tip. This has been really helpful. I have also noticed that you can set up your flash cards so that if you give an incorrect response you can then have that word reappear at various intervals to consolidate it. You can have a set pattern or have it occur randomly. Something else I did with it was get the app to save all of my incorrect responses when I got a word wrong, and then see them all together at the end. Dale (25 Feb 15) I found something similar to Anki that I find is great for memorising vocabulary. Its called quizlet. You can download it at https://quizlet.com/ This one isn't quite as powerful as Anki, but I've found that you can create games on it using sets of words, and it even has an audio function that will pronounce a word for you which gives the added experience of actually hearing the word aloud as you study it. You can also put in whole phrases if you like. If you start an account and log into it, I've created a group just for this course (which can be viewed by anyone, there is no protection or restriction on it). I've basically listed all of the vocabulary that I've garnered from incidental collection, that is, the stuff that just pops out in dialogues and conversations that isn't part of our vocab lists or lesson plans. If you log in you'll see my name, just click on my lists to access them. Sean (27 Feb 15) Has anybody seen the electronic English / Indonesian dictionary app called kamus 2.0.4? I downloaded it last night as a mate of mine who studied Indonesian two years ago recommended it. Really handy and much faster than trying to sift through a hard-copy dictionary. You can download it for free for computers or any device at 'http://en.softonic.com/s/kamus-2.0.4 ' Hani (03 Mar 15) Hi Sean, I downloaded Kamus 2.0.4 and its really quick. I hate to burst your bubble though as one of the instructors (Ridwan) said to me during a lesson the other day that apps such as that should be avoided at this early stage of the course. Apparently the process of searching for base-words in Bahasa Indonesia is a core skill needed for true mastery of grammar. He said that whilst its quicker in the short term, it may impede progress later when attempting to form active and passive transitive verbs. The program basically allows you to enter a verb with the affixes attached giving you the meaning of the word instantaneously. Because some root words lose their first letter in the process of attaching affixes, using an app like kamus 2.0.4 is basically a short-cut. Ridwan did say though that they are a useful tool and are often used by professional linguists and interpreters who have already mastered the basics of attaching morpheme modifiers. Leia (10 Mar 15) I found this website with some good practical approaches to memorising things. I've tried a couple of these techniques which have been helpful. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/happiness-in-world/200911/eight-ways-remember-anything Sean (15 Mar 15) Thanks Leia, I had a look at this and went a step further and found this video for memorising vocabulary.